I’m back!

Hello creative friends, or should I say “Ciao”! I’ve returned from a fabulous trip to Italy, celebrating our upcoming 40th wedding anniversary. Below are a few highlights from our trip, since several of you have asked me to share. And then keep reading and I’ll get to some stamping insights below.

Our first couple of days were spent in Tuscany. We were south of Firenze (Florence) and just north of Siena. Absolutely stunning views everywhere and SO peaceful. We enjoyed our time staying at a rustic, stone resort that was in pure “tuscan hamlet” style, out in the countryside. Good rest, great food and wine.

Just look at the gorgeous green rolling hills, as far as the eye can see!

Then on to Sorrento in the Naples region, on the Amalfi Coast. We traveled by high-speed train and then the local train. We had a lot of rain which was rare for May in this area. But, as you can see, we didn’t let it stop us.

Overlooking Positano on the Amalfi Coast.

Our goal was to get back to Positano which had been our favorite on a previous visit. Braving the rain and the hundreds (not kidding) of steps down to the beach (and back up again), we enjoyed 2 days here. Indescribable!

Back in Sorrento, and the only day it did NOT rain, we took a 4 hour cooking class at Chez Barone. The site was a 300 year old palazzo (currently a private residence, resort and cooking school) on a bluff overlooking the sea. This was a highlight of the trip, as the grounds were breathtaking and the cooking class was incredibly fun. We made pizza dough, pasta from scratch, and tiramisu. We also learned a lot about pizza ovens, fresh ingredients and techniques. Of course we ate and drank ourselves silly. I can’t say enough about the pizza, and the pasta….and did I mention the pizza?

You can’t include information about traveling to Italy without pictures of Pizza, pasta, wine and drinks. Does it make you hungry?

So that’s my tiny recap on a huge trip. A big thank you to my husband for working so hard in planning and executing this adventure with me. And a big thank you to our travel agent Jackie Vander Zwan-Rodriguez for helping with details, reservations and tickets. A random shout-out also to the many people who posted their Italy experiences on their travel vlogs on YouTube. It was a great way for us to research and then make plans for our trip.

Stamp Club

Stamp Club resumes this Wednesday, May 24. Thank you Club members for being flexible and letting me postpone our date. Of course we will be using products from the all new Annual Catalog and we are making a gorgeous fun-fold card.

If you haven’t checked into my YouTube channel recently, be sure to do that. I post a new video every Saturday showing you how to make a “fast and easy” card. Here is a link to my channel https://youtube.com/c/stampwithjuliebaum A recent post shows this card, which we also made at Stamp Club last time:

Below is a current view of my desk, showing some of the new product that arrived (while I was gone). We will be using all this lovely stuff in the upcoming months at Stamp Club, stamp classes and also watch for upcoming Facebook “Lives” and some Mystery Stamping opportunities. Stay tuned!

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